Genesis 26

1 And there is a famine in the land, besides the first famine which was in the days of Abraham, and Isaac goes to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.

Now a famine happened in the land, besides the first famine that had been in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines at Gerar.

2 And YHWH appears to him and says, “Do not go down toward Egypt, dwell in the land concerning which I speak to you,

Now Yahweh appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land that I tell you to live in.

3 sojourn in this land, and I am with you, and bless you, for to you and to your seed I give all these lands, and I have established the oath which I have sworn to your father Abraham;

Stay in this very land, and I will be with you and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants, I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.

4 and I have multiplied your seed as stars of the heavens, and I have given to your seed all these lands; and all nations of the earth have blessed themselves in your Seed;

I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and will give to your descendants all these lands. Through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

5 because that Abraham has listened to My voice, and keeps My charge, My commands, My statutes, and My laws.”

I will do this because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my instructions, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

6 And Isaac dwells in Gerar;

So Isaac settled in Gerar.

7 and men of the place ask him of his wife, and he says, “She [is] my sister”: for he has been afraid to say, “My wife—lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, for she [is] of good appearance.”

When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” He feared to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “The men of this place will kill me to get Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.”

8 And it comes to pass, when the days have been prolonged to him there, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looks through the window, and sees, and behold, Isaac is playing with his wife Rebekah.

After Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out of a window. He saw, behold, Isaac was caressing Rebekah, his wife.

9 And Abimelech calls for Isaac and says, “Behold, she [is] surely your wife; and how could you have said, She [is] my sister?” And Isaac says to him, “Because I said, Lest I die for her.”

Abimelech called Isaac to him and said, “Look, certainly she is your wife. Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.”

10 And Abimelech says, “What [is] this you have done to us? As a little thing one of the people had lain with your wife, and you had brought on us guilt”;

Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

11 and Abimelech commands all the people, saying, “He who comes against this man or against his wife, dying does die.”

So Abimelech warned all the people and said, “Whoever touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

12 And Isaac sows in that land, and finds in that year a hundredfold, and YHWH blesses him;

Isaac planted crops in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold, because Yahweh blessed him.

13 and the man is great, and goes on, going on and becoming great, until he has been very great,

The man became rich, and grew more and more until he became very great.

14 and he has possession of a flock, and possession of a herd, and an abundant service; and the Philistines envy him,

He had many sheep and cattle, and a large household. The Philistines envied him.

15 and all the wells which his father’s servants dug in the days of his father Abraham, the Philistines have stopped them, and fill them with dust.

Now all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them up by filling them with earth.

16 And Abimelech says to Isaac, “Go from us; for you have become much mightier than we”;

Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

17 and Isaac goes from there, and encamps in the Valley of Gerar, and dwells there;

So Isaac departed from there and settled in the Valley of Gerar, and lived there.

18 and Isaac turns back, and digs the wells of water which they dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines have stopped after the death of Abraham, and he calls to them names according to the names which his father called them.

Once again Isaac dug out the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father. The Philistines had stopped them up after Abraham's death. Isaac called the wells by the same names that his father had called them.

19 And Isaac’s servants dig in the valley, and find there a well of living water,

When Isaac's servants dug in the valley, they found there a well of flowing water.

20 and shepherds of Gerar strive with shepherds of Isaac, saying, “The water [is] ours”; and he calls the name of the well “Strife,” because they have striven habitually with him;

The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, and said, “This water is ours.” So Isaac called that well “Esek,” because they had quarreled with him.

21 and they dig another well, and they strive also for it, and he calls its name “Hatred.”

Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that, too, so he gave it the name of “Sitnah.”

22 And he removes from there, and digs another well, and they have not striven for it, and he calls its name “Enlargements,” and says, “For—now has YHWH given enlargement to us, and we have been fruitful in the land.”

He left there and dug yet another well, but they did not quarrel over that one. So he called it Rehoboth, and he said, “Now Yahweh has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

23 And he goes up from there [to] Beer-Sheba,

Then Isaac went up from there to Beersheba.

24 and YHWH appears to him during that night and says, “I [am] the God of your father Abraham, do not fear, for I [am] with you, and have blessed you, and have multiplied your seed, because of My servant Abraham”;

Yahweh appeared to him that same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not fear, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your descendants, for my servant Abraham's sake.”

25 and he builds there an altar, and preaches in the Name of YHWH, and stretches out there his tent, and there Isaac’s servants dig a well.

Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of Yahweh. There he pitched his tent, and his servants dug a well.

26 And Abimelech has gone to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phichol head of his host;

Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath, his friend, and Phicol, the captain of his army.

27 and Isaac says to them, “Why have you come to me, and you have hated me, and you send me away from you?”

Isaac said to them, “Why are you coming to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”

28 And they say, “We have certainly seen that YHWH has been with you, and we say, Now let there be an oath between us, between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you;

Then they said, “We have clearly seen that Yahweh has been with you. So we decided that there should be an oath between us, yes, between us and you. So let us make a covenant with you,

29 do no evil with us, as we have not touched you, and as we have only done good with you, and send you away in peace; you [are] now blessed of YHWH.”

that you will do us no harm, just as we have not harmed you, and as we have treated you well and have sent you away in peace. Indeed, you are blessed by Yahweh.”

30 And he makes a banquet for them, and they eat and drink,

So Isaac made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

31 and rise early in the morning, and swear to one another, and Isaac sends them away, and they go from him in peace.

They rose early in the morning and swore an oath with each other. Then Isaac sent them away, and they left him in peace.

32 And it comes to pass during that day that Isaac’s servants come and declare to him concerning the circumstances of the well which they have dug, and say to him, “We have found water”;

That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug. They said, “We have found water.”

33 and he calls it Shebah, [oath, ] therefore the name of the city [is] Beer-Sheba, [Well of the Oath, ] to this day.

He called the well Shibah, so the name of that city is Beersheba to this day.

34 And Esau is a son of forty years, and he takes a wife, Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite,

When Esau was forty years old, he took a wife, Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

35 and they are a bitterness of spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.

They brought sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah.